Archives January 2023

This publish is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews as well as Columns

Wayne Markley

by Wayne Markley

Recently, as in the last few weeks, a number of excellent newspaper strip collections have been published. These variety from Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon to Jose Luis Salina’s Cisco youngster to Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins On Stage. I have long stated there is a world of excellent stories in the pages of newspapers from years gone by that a lot of of us have no concept exist. luckily a number of publishers have taken up the task of reprinting a number of these traditional strips, as well as I am going to look at five recent releases. Of course, you must inspect www.westfieldcomics.com for availability of these titles as a few of them are brand new. As excellent as these five books are, as well as as much as I commend these publishers for taking the time as well as effort to get these strips in print, they are however a extremely little portion of the comic strips that are out there, not to mention the strips that have been lost to time. Also, considering that a lot of of these strips are not about superheroes, the audience they charm to is extremely limited, so I motivate you to try one of these books if you are trying to find something different than the current large crossover or the newest re-launch gimmick.

Flash Gordon as well as Jungle Jim Vol. 1

First off I would like to go over the very first volume of IDW’s collection of Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon as well as Jungle Jim. Alex Raymond is one of my preferred illustrators as well as Flash Gordon is one of his finest liked works, although Rip Kirby is my favorite. This new collection from IDW is a significant large book in full color collecting the Flash Gordon Sunday strips from 1934-1936. It is interesting to enjoy Raymond establish as an artist as well as draftsman as these strips go on. The early Sundays are a bit rigid as well as you can see Raymond progress from his work on the everyday trick agent X (later X-9, see additionally down in this article) to his later work where his style evolves into a lovely rich style that rivals Hal Foster. I believe this is because of the area he was provided on a Sunday only strip as well as the time it enabled him to have to create it versus a everyday strip. These Sunday strips were double the fun in that the primary section of the strip was science fiction experience with Flash Gordon however the top third of the strip was an continuous Jungle Jim strip likewise by Raymond. This is the very first time that the Flash Gordon strip has been reprinted with the Jungle Jim strips intact. The Jungle Jim strips have been reprinted in the past by Pacific Comics Club as well as street Enterprises, however this is the very first time they are reprinted the method they were intended. Flash Gordon has likewise been collected in the past by kitchen area Sink Press, Checker press as well as others, however this is by far the most lovely collection as well as the reproduction is the very best I have seen of this material. There is likewise a great deal of historical material about the strip as well as Alex Raymond. The book is a bit pricey, however it is worth every penny.

Cisco youngster Vol. 1

Next is the very first volume of the total collection of Jose Luis Salina’s Cisco youngster (or at least that is the plan.) This very first volume collects strips from 1951-1953 as well as are beautifully brought back in wonderful black as well as white by traditional Comics Press. There is nearly three year’s worth of everyday strips by Salina collected here. It is a excellent book in that is shows an American audience what a amazing artist Salina was, however he has never gotten a excellent offer of fan attention. maybe it’s since he is from Argentina that American fans have overlooked him, or perhaps it’s since Cisco is not as widely known as a few of the other characters. There are eight total stories right here all written by Rod Reed. when once again there is a great deal of historical info about the strip, the O Henry story that the character is named after, as well as the history of Cisco. (There is extremely bit connection between the O Henry story as well as the Cisco youngster comic strip as well as the extremely prominent TV show of the exact same name in the 1950s.) just like the huge Ben collection that traditional Comics press released earlier this year, this is a lovely collection of a seldom seen – outside of a few reprints by street Enterprises – newspaper strips with quick passed western stories with genuinely lovely art. As a special reward there is an introduction by Sergio Aragones.

Pogo Vol. 1: with The Wild Blue Wonder

Fantagraphics Books, who publishes a few of the very best collections in the world (see their prince Valiant collections), have released the very first volume of what is organized to bea 12 volume set reprinting the total Walt Kelly’s Pogo. To be honest, I have never been a significant fan of Pogo, even though I liked Kelly’s Our Gang comics (also being collected by as well as offered from Fantagraphics), however I have to state reading this very first volume has altered my mind. good friends have told me for many years exactly how excellent Pogo is as well as they told me that if I checked out the strips in sequence I would see the appeal of Kelly’s storytelling. Jeff (Bone) Smith has been one of the most vocal supports of Pogo, as well as so to Jeff, I apologize, you are right, this is a excellent strip. This very first volume has a few of the most lovely reproduction of a newspaper strip you will ever see as well as there is so much background info about Kelly as well as Pogo it is nearly like taking a college class on Walt Kelly. reading the strips in sequence (and this is the very first time they have been reprinted in buy without skipping around) is so much much better than the trade collections that were performed in the 60s as well as 70s. As a bonus, the Sunday strips are all in color. If you are like me, as well as were not a huge Pogo fan, provide this very first volume a try as well as I believe you will discover that this is a amazing strip.

X-9: trick agent Corrigan Vol. 3

IDW likewise just recently released the third volume of six collecting the total Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson X-9: trick agent Corrigan. Yes, this is the exact same trick agent X that Alex Raymond produced back in the 1930s except these strips are from 1972-1974. There are over 800 beautifully drawn strips by Al Williamson, who mixed realism with a lovely style that grew out of the Roy Krenkel/Alex Raymond institution of art. This book is worth choosing up if only for Al Williamson’s art, however Archie Goodwin’s storytelling is a few of the very best you will ever read. Goodwin has a style of storytelling that few others have ever achieved. Within these volumes Goodwin is able to tell stories that include an outer area adventure; street gangs in the inner city; an evil Oriental warlord who looks a great deal like Fu Manchu; to the jungles of South America as well as the Aztecs. together Goodwin as well as Williamson were a excursion de force of storytelling that harkens back to the traditional days of the experience strip.

Mary Perkins On stage Vol. 9

Finally we have Mary Perkins On stage volume 9. I include this title since it is the ninth volume in this collection of Leonard Starr’s traditional strip. traditional Comics press has so far has been able to gather every strip considering that the beginning. While a lot of people reject Mary Perkins as a soap opera as well as it seldom gets much, if any, interest it is really a beautifully drawn human drama that is both gripping as well as suspenseful. It is not an experience strip in the sense of Buz Sawyer or Steve Canyon, however it is an adventure, a human experience as well as the art is as great as anything Williamson or Raymond ever did, which is high praise indeed. traditional Comics press has pledegd to publish the total run of Leonard Starr’s work on this strip over 15 volumes, as well as they are over half the method there. If you have never seen Mary Perkins, do yourself a favor as well as pick up a volume just to be surprised by the lovely art as well as production.

This wraps up this blog. This is a golden age of newspaper strip reprints as well as the five books I have spotlighted right here are just the idea of the iceberg. personally I discover it to be so much fun to sit down with one of these books as well as spend hours in one more world, be it on the far flung world of Mongo with Flash Gordon or the dirty wild west of the Cisco youngster or streets of the huge city with Mary Perkins, it is so much a lot more engrossing than lots of of the monthly comics that come out every week. As always, these are my thoughts only, as well as do not show the opinions of the workers or the company, Westfield Comics. any type of thoughts, complaints, agreements or disagreements can be sent toMFBWAY@AOL.COM.

Thank you.

This publish is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews as well as Columns

Back problem #38

by Roger Ash

Back problem is a magazine I truly enjoy. My prime years for reading comics – the years that shaped my viewpoint of what makes a great comic – were the late 70s as well as early 80s. Back problem covers comics of the 70 as well as 80s, so every problem is like reviewing old buddies as well as satisfying some new ones that I’d like to understand better. as well as I would state these things about Back problem even if I didn’t sometimes compose articles for it.

Yes, I have written for Back problem in the past as well as I have a piece in the new issue, #38. The style for this problem is “Family” as well as features articles including one on John Byrne’s run on great Four, a personal preferred of mine. For my part, editor Michael Eury assigned me a Pro2Pro interview with Louise “Weezie” Simonson, June Brigman, as well as Jon Bogdanove about their work on Power Pack, which was produced by Simonson as well as Brigman.

Power pack Classic

For those who may not understand Power Pack, they are four young siblings – Alex, Julie, Jack, as well as Katie – who are provided powers by an alien whose ship accidents near their home. Eventually, Franklin Richards – the son of the great Four’s Reed & take legal action against Richards – joined the youngsters as well. Their adventures took them to far away planets, however they likewise fought menaces throughout the marvel world at the side of a few of Marvel’s biggest stars. It was a comic I enjoyed reading, as well as so did many others as it has a number of loyal fans. marvel just recently published a collection of the early problems that I extremely recommend. having the chance to talk about the book with Weezie, June, as well as Jon was fantastic fun. What truly struck me was exactly how fond they all are of Power Pack. This was obviously a special book for them.

But that’s all I’m going to state about the article. If you want to understand what they said, you’ll just have to get Back problem #38 as well as discover out for yourself. What I do want to talk about for a moment is the interview process. I have done a number of interviews in the past – you’ve ideally checked out a few of them right here at the Westfield blog – as well as I’ve checked out a number of interviews as well. If you’re ever going to do an interview, there’s one huge piece of advice I’d like to pass on: Do your homework.

When I checked out an interview, hear one on the radio, or see one on TV, I can always tell who took the time to do the research study before conducting the interview. They come across as much more knowledgeable about the person they’re interviewing as well as ask concerns that go deeper than the surface. In the situation of the Power pack interviews, that meant going back as well as re-reading all the problems Weezie, June, as well as Jon worked on as well as I checked out a couple interviews with June as well as Weezie that were published around the time Power pack debuted. Doing the prep work is important to doing a great interview. There are other things that I believe are important for a great interview, however I’ll save that for one more column. Ain’t I a tease?

Now, go checked out a comic!

Purchase

Back problem #38

Power pack traditional Vol. 1

This publish is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews as well as Columns

by Josh Crawley

It’s that time of the month again?! assumption so; right here we go!

Last Kiss Sticky note Book

Last Kiss Sticky note Book

(Not-so-random trivia: I was nearly the admin for John Lustig’s web site when upon a time. He was most likely much better off without me, in all honesty.) I’ve been a fan of Lustig’s re-captioned romance comics for about ten years now, as well as they’ve always entertained me. In addition to this sticky note book, be sure to inspect out the metal situation (handy for cash, receipts, as well as perhaps even cigarettes) as well as coffee mug used this month, as well. For a few of his work (along with a lot of other fantastic names) on rewritten marvel romance comics, take a look at the marvel romance Redux: one more type of like soft cover.

Batman: Europa

Batman: Europa #1

Painted Jim Lee artwork? You’d most likely have to kill me to keep me from getting this book. And, in full disclosure, I wouldn’t make it extremely easy. I’d most likely maim you in the process. As an added bonus, I’m looking ahead to see Lee work over somebody else’s designs for the very first time in ages (that I understand of).

Superman/Batman: Torment

Superman/Batman: Torment softcover

Finally in soft cover! If that’s exactly how you roll, that is. Me, I’m all about the difficult cover.  Why? one of my preferred artists ever (Dustin Nguyen, which you knew) drew this arc, rather potentially my preferred of the series’ entire run. Plus, that Alan Burnett person understands his method around these characters, having serviced lots of of their animated adventures over the past “few” years.

Ame-Comi PVC Figure: Catwoman V. 2

Ame-Comi Heroine Series: Catwoman V.2 Blue fit Variant PVC figure

I’m not going to lie; I believe this blue fit variant is head-and-shoulders above the already awesome looking routine V.2 release.

Angelus Vol. 1

Angelus volume 1 illumination trade paperback

(I’m just guessing on that “Illumination” bit, as it’s shown on the cover however not in the noting anywhere. It seems great, so I’m opting for it.) This book is going to look fantastic on my shelf next to all of my Ron Marz-penned Witchblade soft covers created by top Cow’s remarkable Phil Smith. Sadly, the top Cow books are books lots of people won’t take a possibility on because of a decade’s old prejudice that doesn’t in shape the material. You’d believe fantastic composing as well as fantastic art would be enough.

Magdalena Vol. 1

Magdalena volume 1 softcover

Speaking of fantastic composing as well as fantastic art, it appears like I’m going to be getting a lot of fantastic top Cow books in January. If you believe Marz does a fantastic task on Witchblade, picture exactly how incredible his composing is on the book he waited years to compose for top Cow! Done imagining yet? exactly how about now? Yeah, it’s much better than that. as well as if you’re trying to find something to whet your whistle before it ships, we’re still taking orders for Magdalena Origins volume 1.

Robert E. Howard’s Sword Woman

Robert E. Howard: The Sword lady & other historical Adventures soft cover

I’ve never checked out any type of Robert E. Howard stories (that I understand of), however I’d be lying if I stated women wielding swords wasn’t sexy; throwing in the historical adventures element of it just makes it that much a lot more intriguing.

Sucker Punch Statue: infant Doll

Sucker Punch: infant Doll statue

I haven’t been amazed with director Zack Snyder’s previous films (300, Watchmen), however this statue has done a lot more to motivate me to provide sucker Punch than quite much anything else might (paying me not-withstanding). If I had the room, I’d be getting both this as well as the sucker Punch: Amber statue.

That’s it for this week. comply with my tweets, email me, as well as be sure to keep an eye out on the Westfield Comics Facebook.

Josh Crawley may or may not be the keyboardist for Everclear. He strongly suggests you not bet that he is.

This publish is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews as well as Columns

Roger Ash

by Roger Ash

I started reading comics back in the late 1970s. since then, a great deal has altered both is comics themselves in addition to in the comics industry. I was reflecting on a few of these modifications just recently as well as believed I’d share a few of my believing with you.

Batman believes before he leaps on this traditional page.

Things I miss: believed balloons.

Thought balloons are quite much a thing of the past as far as most publishers are concerned, however I miss them. Yes, sometimes captions are utilized to communicate character’s thoughts, however that’s not the same. In most situations that means the entire story is told from that person’s point of view, however you get no hint as to what other people in the story are thinking. Also, in many cases, these captions function a color connected with the character’s costume which can make them difficult to read. believed balloons can add to the story. For example, envision a panel of two people kissing. one of them thinks, “I like her so much.” The other believes “Blech. I can’t believe I have to put up with this.” That speaks volumes about their connection to every other in one panel. I comprehend that the move in comics has been towards making them more like movies or video games as well as since there are not believed balloons there, that’s a huge reason why they’ve disappeared in comics. however here’s the thing: comics aren’t movies or video games. While there are similarities, comics can do things they can’t as well as getting rid of whatever that separates them likewise gets rid of things that make comics unique. as well as that can lessen the comic reader’s experience.

Gorgeous colors by Laura Martin on the Amanda Conner drawn cover for Marvel’s woman Comics #1.

Things I like: contemporary coloring

Advances in the coloring of comics has come a long, long way. There are many factors behind this such as improved paper stock, advances in printing, as well as new innovation that enables for coloring on computers. The bottom line is that you can do fantastic things with color now that would have been almost impossible years ago. When this new innovation very first arrived, people tended to overdo it just to show off what might be done. While there are still situations of that happening, many have discovered exactly how to make the most of it.

A traditional Daredevil letter page.

Things I miss: Letter columns

Firstly, indeed I understand they haven’t disappeared completely. I still see them in a few comics. However, they are a vanishing species. Secondly, I comprehend that the Web was quite much the letter column’s doom. With blogs, message boards, as well as social network where people can comment on comics as soon as they’ve checked out them (or while they’re reading them), letter columns no longer have them effect they when did. however I don’t checked out many comments about comics on the internet as it doesn’t take long for somebody to be a jerk as well as have the thread devolve into name calling. In letter columns, editors might select not to print letters that basically stated “you suck” as well as not state why the letter writer didn’t like the story or exactly how it might have been improved. Online, those kinds of people seem to comprise a majority of those commenting.

Fantastic four #588 written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Nick Dragotta. Cover art by Alan Davis.

Things I like: more advanced storytelling

As much as I enjoy the purple prose of a Stan Lee written comic, if that was the method comics were still written, I wouldn’t be reading them much anymore. as well as I assumption that many others wouldn’t either as storytelling has altered a great deal over the years. Comics today can tell extremely complex stories with writers dealing with problems as well as storylines that resonate with a contemporary audience. Jonathan Hickman’s work is a excellent example of this. The method he structured his stories in amazing four for example, was different than what I had seen in the book before, however the characters still rang true.

Jeff Smith’s Bone.

Many stories these days are geared towards older readers, however if you just do that, you’re limiting your audience. You can tell complex as well as advanced stories that charm to a wide range of readers, including young readers. Jeff Smith’s Bone is a great example of this as I’ve satisfied a number of teen as well as younger visitors who encountered these books with the Scholastic editions as well as like them.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many other things I miss in comics in addition to things I enjoy in contemporary comics, however I’m going to save those for upcoming columns. exactly how about you? What do you miss in comics? What has improved in contemporary comics? jointhe conversation in the comment section!

Now, go checked out a comic!

This post is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews and Columns

KC Carlson

by KC Carlson

Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo

APARO RULES: Bob Greenberger has already weighed in on what I feel the most interesting book that DC is publishing this month: Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo. everything he said there goes double for me. What Bob didn’t mention was that beyond the excellence of execution of Aparo’s dynamic, legendary artwork are some of the quirkiest stories that DC ever published. Not only does Batman team up with some of DC’s most popular characters, but brave and the bold was also home to some of the more obscure characters at DC (like the metal men and Kamandi), as well as some team-ups that couldn’t have possibly fit into DC’s continuity without explanation (like team-ups with WWII-era Sgt. rock or Earth-2’s Wildcat and Spectre). At the time, many of these stories were ascribed away as happening on the fan-named Earth-B (B for editor Murray Boltinoff, who usually edited DC’s non-continuity books like Ghosts and The Unexpected, and had very little interest in DC’s growing continuity).

Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo collects The brave and the bold #98, 100-102, and 104-122. This volume stops just short of one of the real B&B classics — issue #124, which teams Batman and Sgt. rock and guest-stars Aparo, writer Bob Haney, and Boltinoff!!! While the action in the issue is unfolding, the creators are frantically pacing the story so the good guys win! (Holy forgone conclusion!) The classic cover features a frightened Aparo drawing the cover of the book at gunpoint, while a hooded gunman is screaming “Finish the cover, Aparo! rock kills BATMAN — Or I kill YOU!” Classic. and something to look forward to in volume 2.

DC’s pushing their Flashpoint collections this month, but ask yourself: which project has the biggest chance of still being relevant even five years from now? Aparo is one of the best Bat-artists ever, and if you don’t know that, then you don’t know Batman.

Showcase Presents: The Losers volume 1

BABY, even THE LOSERS get lucky SOMETIMES: another quirky DC collection with some great unsung artwork is showcase Presents: The Losers volume 1. That series was writer/editor Robert Kanigher’s attempt to form a team with a group of DC’s more obscure WWII characters — all of whom had recently had their series canceled. Captain storm had lost his leg and his ship in combat before his comic was canceled after 18 issues. Captain Johnny Cloud was a Navaho fighter pilot who ran into bad luck in the pages of All-American men of War. Gunner and Sarge were ground-level grunts (often with their dog, Pooch) who initially fought in the same comic book series, before transferring to the pages of Our fighting Forces. All had horrible bad luck during their service. Their worst (and last) mission was memorably chronicled in Darwyn Cooke’s DC: The new Frontier, but prior to that, they were killed off (twice) in crisis on infinite Earths (and in The Losers spin-off special). (Then again, it was recently revealed that they all survived WWII in DC Universe: Legacies #4 — so who really knows?)

This showcase presents volume reprints 1970s tales, from the Losers’ first appearance as a team (oddly in a Haunted tank story in G.I. combat #138), and then in their own feature in Our fighting Forces beginning with issue #123, with the first era of the series wrapping up in #150 (as does this showcase volume). With issue #151, the series continued , but with Jack Kirby taking over both writing and art until Our fighting Forces #162. Those issues were collected in 2009 as The Losers by Jack Kirby, part of the Jack Kirby Library. In Our fighting Forces #163, Kanigher returns as writer and the rest of the series (#181 is the last issue) is primarily illustrated by George Evans.

The stories reprinted here constitute the heart of The Losers saga, in which, true to their bad luck, they quickly lose another member (or do they?) and gain a new one — Ona, a female member of the Norwegian resistance movement. The series is one of Kanigher’s best, as instead of a collection of mostly unrelated war tales, there’s an actual narrative thread (and continuity) to this Losers series. It reads very much like a contemporary superhero series. Although the Losers had bad luck (and this point is probably hammered home a few too many times in Kanigher’s stories), as a publishing entity, the Losers were very lucky at one thing — they had a number of incredible artists working on the series. outside of Kirby, none was so fantastic as former Sgt. Fury and His howling Commandos artist John Severin. His outstanding run on the series was contained in issues #132-150. other artists who contributed occasionally were Ken Barr and the team of Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. virtually every dynamic cover for this era of the series was by Joe Kubert.

There’s lots of good reading and beautiful art in showcase Presents: The Losers volume 1.

Avengers: Kree/Skrull War

IT’S AVENGIN’ TIME!: Marvel’s got a whopping 11 Avengers-related collections on their schedule this month. (You’d think there was a movie or something…) Besides volume 12 of the Avengers Masterworks (featuring the best of the Steve Englehart era, aka The Avengers/Defenders war and leading into the Celestial Madonna Saga), there are all kinds of new and old collections coming soon to your eyeballs. RECOMMENDED: Avengers: Kree-Skrull war HC, where you can witness the birth of event-style comic storytelling by Roy Thomas and (mostly) Neal Adams. The Avengers 1959 TPB is a kick-ass cold war story, by the guy who can tell ‘em best — Howard Chaykin. and if you love that, don’t miss the prelude to that story in new Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis TPB (reprinting new Avengers #7-13), featuring all-star artwork by Chaykin, Stuart Immonen, Daniel Acuna, and Mike Deodato. Avengers Assemble volume 2 TPB features the great Kurt Busiek/George Pérez run, with guests Jerry Ordway, Stuart Immonen, and more — now in paperback!

Avengers: The crossing Omnibus

BE WARY OF: Avengers: The crossing Omnibus, collecting one of the most convoluted (some would say worst (remember “Teen Tony”?) Avengers stories ever. It took five writers to write it. (And a couple more to explain and “fix” it after it was all done. Sadly, those stories aren’t included.) If you must read it, I would think that finding the back issues would be a heck of a lot cheaper than this $100 brick. Personally, I’d get four copies of the new The Thing: The serpent Crown affair HC collection (mostly by mark Gruenwald and George Pérez), a really fun read featuring a bunch of future Avengers and lots of marvel history, before I’d get Avengers: The Crossing. just sayin’…

Winter Soldier

OTHER marvel STUFF: By now you’ve probably heard that Avengers vs. X-Men is going to be the next big marvel event (starting in April, I believe). Which retroactively makes the current Avengers/X-Sanction miniseries the prelude to that, so adjust your orders accordingly . . . The new marvel title launch this month is winter Soldier #1 & 2, which should certainly surprise everybody who thought that character died in fear Itself. (It seems like most everything bad that happened in fear Itself has been somehow made right again, now that it’s over. What’s up with that?) winter Soldier also feels like it may be one Cap-related book too many right now, although I think winter Soldier is a keeper due to the much-proven awesomeness of the well-tested creative team (Ed Brubaker and Butch Guice) — plus it’s a hopefully permanent place for Black Widow to hang out, which is always a good thing. With Alan Davis starting soon as the regular artist on the main Captain America book, I’m very excited, in an understated British sort of way. (Hoorah!) So I’m guessing that this might not be the best time to get that life-time subscription to the Captain America and Bucky title… Bucky’s dead, man . . . The Twelve #9 & 10 returns (in ‘12) on this month’s order form. For all those fans that have been born since it mysteriously disappeared all those years ago, marvel is thoughtfully reprinting the first part of the series in both cheap and more expensive formats. Which is good. now where is Captain America: White???

Fantastic four season One

SEASON ONE: It’s buried in the back of marvel Previews (in the middle of all of Marvel’s reprint collections), but Marvel’s all-new original graphic novel series season One kicks off in February with a volume retelling the origin of the fantastic Four. According to USA Today (but actually a rewritten Tom Brevoort quote from the original marvel press release), season One will feature “a new, young generation of today’s comic creators bringing a modern voice and sensibility to tales of classic marvel heroes and teams.”

Fantastic four season One is written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (who in addition to writing fantastic four projects since 2004, has script-doctored the Spider-Man: turn Off The Dark Broadway show, and is currently a writer/co-producer for Glee) and illustrated by David Marquez. It retells the origin and early adventures of the fantastic four in a new 136-page hardcover graphic novel (although not all of those pages are new. marvel couldn’t help themselves and threw in a reprint of fantastic four #570 by Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham, which the new story will have to compete with). subsequent new season One origin re-tellings of Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the X-Men will also be published in 2012.

Hmmm. Superman: earth One was very successful for DC, was it not?

Ralph Wiggum Comics

RALPH WIGGUM: KING OF COMIC BOOKS!: one of my favorite fictional characters is getting his own comic book in February, courtesy of BongoComics. (Home of great decision-making!) who could it be? None other than Ralph Wiggum, the eight-year-old oddball son of chief Wiggum. Ralph is either a basket case or a zen master of the non sequitur. He might be both sides of the same coin. Ralph’s comic is only the first of a series of Simpson Comics: One-Shot Wonders — but how can Ralph not be popular enough to get his own regular comic book? just check out these classic Ralph quotes from The Simpsons TV show:

Me fail English? That’s umpossible.

Miss Hoover, I glued my head to my shoulder.

The doctor said I wouldn’t have so many nosebleeds if I kept my finger outta there.

Grandma had hair like that when she went to sleep in her forever box.

Lisa: players play and managers manage.

Ralph: Do alligators alligate?

I cheated wrong. I copied the Lisa name and used the Ralph answers.

Ralph: (reading his book report) Mr. Luther King had a dream. dreams are where Elmo and toy story had a party, and I went there. Yay, my turn is over.

Principal Skinner: one of your best, Ralph.

Clouds are God’s sneezes.

I choo-choo-choose you.

Your toys are fun to touch. Mine are all sticky.

This is my sandbox. I’m not allowed to go in the deep end.

(Ralph is thrown in a window with a note attached) I’m a brick!

Contributing to Ralph Wiggum Comics is Carol Lay (Way Lay, good Girls), Mike Kazaleh (Adventures of Captain Jack, Ren & Stimpy), and Sergio Aragonés (Mad Magazine, Groo the Wanderer).

Rumors abound that Ralph Wiggum Comics might not be outrageously funny. That’s umpossible.

Courtney Crumrin volume 1: The night Things

MORE ALL-AGES FUN: creator Ted Naifeh’s charming Courtney Crumrin is being rereleased in newly remastered, full-color hardcover editions from Oni. In the first 144-page volume, The night Things, Courtney and her family move in with her creepy great Uncle Aloysius in his creepy old house, where strange and magical things start happening. Naifeh’s got a wonderful art style for this series, which is equal parts cute and creepy, and Courtney herself is amazingly designed — so cute that at first you don’t notice that she’s lacking a nose! Courtney Crumrin will appeal to fans of scary Godmother and those folks going through Harry Potter withdrawal . . . It was only a matter of time– adventure Time! — before the wildly popular animated show made its way to comic books! After becoming a viral hit on the internet, adventure Time was picked up and developed by cartoon Network, where it has become both a critical and commercial success. A comedy/adventure/fantasy with huge dollops of post-apocalypitc elements mixed with surreal humor, adventure Time features the twisted adventures of Finn the Human, Jake the talking dog, Princess Bonnibelle Bubblegum, and the evil Ice King, who enjoys kidnapping princesses. Finn wears a ridiculous-looking piece of headgear which he calls his “Awesome Hat”. Jake is a 28-year-old dog with magical powers voiced by the same actor who does Bender on Futurama (John DiMaggio). It’s a very, very, very (very) weird show, and it already has a legion of fans. (Perhaps you saw some of them cosplaying at the San Diego or new York Comic Conventions?) adventure Time was created by Pendleton Ward, who cites as influences such diverse sources as My neighbor Totoro, The Simpsons, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, Max Fleischer cartoons, and Dungeons and Dragons. many of the series writers and storyboard artists have a background in indy comics, so it was probably a forgone conclusion that the series would eventually make it to comics. KaBOOM is the publisher, and the first issue of the comic includes work by Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, and Braden Lamb. definitely something to check out if you love the weird and have a couple extra bucks this month.

Classic marvel Characters #4: Dr. Strange

SHORT TAKES: I haven’t been too interested in the Dark horse C

This publish is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews as well as Columns,
Westfield Retail store news

Due the success of the Superman: earth One graphic novel, J. Michael Straczynski has revealed a sabbatical from monthly comics. He’ll continue to plot Superman as well as question lady to surface out the present story arcs as well as he states that work is continuing on Marvel’s The Twelve in this CBR interview. No mention of his return to take on & The Bold, so I wouldn’t hold your breath.

Entertainment Tonight’s going to debut the eco-friendly lantern motion picture trailer, or a lot of of it, this Tuesday, November 16. “Til then, here’s a slip peek!

Expect bi-Monthly Spongebob Squarepants comics to be distributed by Bongo Comics beginning in February.

February likewise sees the end of Jack of Fables, a new Cinderella mini-series as well as the beginning of a new “super” storyline in Fables.

After lots of false rumors as well as bigger-than-expected scores for the very first 2 episodes, AMC has lastly officially revealed the greenlighting of a 13-episode, 2nd season of The walking Dead TV series.

Dark equine continues its connection with the USAToday website, that has already seen all-new Hellboy as well as Mass impact short stories, with the all-new Serenity: Downtime. ideally these will all be printed on paper someday.

Garth Ennis has a new title coming from Dynamite in February, Jennifer Blood.

Thanks to fans of his artwork, Steve Rude’s home has been saved for the moment.

DC’s blog is running a teaser picture for the “possible” return of Doomsday!

This post is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews and Columns

KC Carlson

by KC Carlson

Batman: The dynamic Duo Archives

I’ve been thinking about the DC Archive series quite a bit lately. As a cost-cutting measure over the past year, and because of our recent relocation (we really didn’t need much more books to relocation cross-country), I stopped buying them to save money. As it turns out, this may have been the wrong thing to do. (More on this later.)

Also, the DC Archives program has gone through a number of changes over the past several years — not all of them good ones. For a while, fans were wondering if the lack of new Archive volumes meant that the series was finished. Over the past year, however, new Archives have been on the schedule — and some of the newer titles have been quite esoteric (like Sugar and Spike and Lois Lane). but something else has been going on in the behind-the-scenes decision-making concerning the DC Archives line which has had ramifications on numerous of the new volumes.

ARCHIVING THE ARCHIVES

Superman Archives Vol. 2

I’m getting a little ahead of myself. For those who don’t know, the DC Archives program has been a long-running series of hardcover archival-quality collections featuring the early (and long out of print) adventures of DC’s major characters and series, mostly reprinting stories from the golden and Silver Ages of comics. The vast majority of the golden Age stories had never been previously reprinted until these volumes first appeared.

Long-time DC fans can remember infrequently seeing older stories in 80-Page Giants, 100-Page super Spectaculars, or DC Treasuries, but most of these were stories that had surviving film or photostats that could be used for reprinting. film or stats for most golden Age work were not saved/archived, so numerous classic stories could not be reprinted affordably. To publish them would require comprehensive and expensive restoration, much of it quite crude and destructive. One early restoration method was to bleach the color out of actual comic pages until just the black lines remained. (Well, sorta — they usually had to be retouched.) The problem with this method was that it required two complete original comics, as working on the one page usually destroyed the linework on the reverse side. When you had to deal with the prices of numerous golden Age original comics (some of them thousands of dollars a piece!), well, it’s safe to say that this was not a low-cost process.

Batman Archives Vol. 2

The saddest thing I ever saw was some of DC’s legendary bound volumes of original golden Age comics being sliced apart to be used for some of the early Archives volumes, when it proved impossible to find scarce original comics. Not to be too maudlin about it, but those brave original comics gave their lives so that thousands of reproductions could be born to share with the world. Nowadays, most everything can be done on computer (although there’s still comprehensive touch-up work to do), so elderly comic books no longer have to be sacrificed.

CROSS-TOWN INSPIRATION

It’s hard to deny that the DC Archives series wasn’t at least partially inspired by the early marvel Masterworks volumes, which began appearing in September of 1987. Each of the early Masterworks collected the first 10 issues of Marvel’s most popular series, beginning with outstanding Spider-Man, rapidly followed by fantastic Four, X-Men, and Avengers. These were all deluxe hardcover volumes, with dust jackets and slick, glossy paper, and were an immediate hit.

All star Comics Archives Vol. 1

DC took notice. Richard Bruning and Dick Giordano developed a plan to begin a similar program at DC. What they came up with was slightly different than Marvel’s, with the desire to collect the adventures of DC’s two most popular characters — Superman and Batman — starting from their groundbreaking appearances in the late 1930s, which were some of the most influential comic books of the golden Age. (The Justice Society, in All-Star Comics, and wonder woman were added after the line was established.) because they were dealing with such historical material, and because Bruning was coming at the project from a design and fine arts background, it was decided early on to treat the project as a true archival effort. numerous of these stories were long “lost” and seldom reprinted (save for the seminal origin stories). Bruning insisted on the project using a special paper stock (creamy, not glossy, in layman’s terms, and thick), upscale archival binding, and a high level of design work, including a uniform “look” for the entire series.

Wonder woman Archives Vol. 2

Restoration of the original artwork was going to be a big problem, because original film or useable stats were just not available for much of this material. DC began the Archive series with what was accepted as industry standards for such reproduction work,ultimately rejected them, and enlisted experts to develop new methods. most of the restoration work has been done by Rick Keene, who by now has restored thousands of pages. In the early days, he was assisted by both Dale Crain and Bhob Stewart, with Crain also becoming Editor for numerous of the Archives volumes.

Paul Levitz became an early champion of the DC Archives project when he signed off on the then-iffy proposition of creating high-ticket items with substantial production costs — but as both a longtime historian of the field as well as ultimate caretaker of the DC characters, he knew that this was going to be an essential and historical project. Bob Greenberger has told me of an executive meeting around 2005 concerning the Archives. When it came time to talk about adding new titles to the project, that involved DC’s comic book collectors (including Levitz, Greenberger, Bob Wayne, Georg Brewer, and others) pulling their want lists out of their wallets to use as starting points for discussion, much to the amazement of other non-collector DC executives.

Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 1

I’m not 100% sure of this, but I think that it was Levitz’s idea to accelerate the introduction of the Silver Age Archive line (beginning with the popular Justice league of America and legion of Super-Heroes) to help monetize the program. because film existed for most of the Silver Age material, those Archives would be less costly to produce and would help fund the production-heavy golden Age volumes. The Archives would continuously switch back and forth between golden and Silver Age material throughout its publication history.

PERSONAL ARCHIVING

The first DC Archives arrived in 1989, beginning with Superman Archives in October, with Batman Archives following in June 1990. I first arrived at DC best about then as Richard Bruning’s assistant and right away got swept into helping on the Archives, mostly on quality control. While the Archives were never an actual project for me, they were a large part of my personal history while at DC, mostly because I worked with (and occasionally shared living spaces) for a number of years with people such as Bruning and Crain. Both of them were extensively involved with producing and editing the Archives, and I ended up helping out by default. I spent numerous late nights with Dale, mostly keeping him company while he was at the drawing board thoroughly touching up linework or performing other restoration work.

Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 4

I was also honored to be asked to write two introductions for the Archives series, for the legion of Super-Heroes Archives Volumes 4 and 9. It’s not just anybody who gets invited to contribute to the Archives, and I’m humbled to be there alongside so numerous notable creators and historians.

Even after I left DC, in late 1997, Dale invited me back to help out on the Archives when they were going through a busy period. I mostly photocopied pages from the bound copies to make dummy books for the printers and checked and double-checked proofs and bluelines, but it was essential work, as these were expensive books that shouldn’t get messed up by something as stupid as out-of-order pages. (Something that occasionally happened, but not on my watch.) Johanna and I had decided to get married in NYC, so I went up early to help out for a few weeks before, and Dale kept me busy best up to the ceremony. Plus, we got to party afterwards with all our DC friends!

EXPANDING THE ARCHIVES

Superman: The man of Tomorrow Archives Vol. 2

Once the esoteric golden Age Superman and Batman material was completed (including such rarities as solo stories from World’s Finest), Silver Age Archive series were also begun for both Batman and Superman. Oddly, they started in different eras: Superman in the late 50s, and Batman with the 1964 Julie Schwartz-edited “new look”. Makes you wonder how much DC really does hate the late 50s/early 60s Jack Schiff-edited sci-fi and gimmick Batman stories, which were the staple of the very popular Batman 80-Page Giants of the 60s.

Doom Patrol Archives Vol. 1

Eventually, the Archives got into much more esoteric material. Doom Patrol sold surprisingly well, as did Jack Kirby’s early Challengers of the Unknown. Jack Cole’s Plastic man also did very well, as did collections of the seldom seen early Captain marvel (Shazam!) material. I’ve always been very pleased to see the ongoing wonder woman and Sgt. rock series.

Here’s a couple things you probably didn’t know about the DC Archives: attendees to Superman co-creator Jerry Seigel’s DC memorial service in 1996 were surprised to find a copy of Superman Archives volume 1 on their seats, as a very special memorial gift. I believe the same was done with the first Batman Archives at Bob Kane’s memorial, although I wasn’t in attendance for that one.

Also, remember this 2010 hardcover collection featuring early Superboy stories by Siegel and Shuster (and others)?

The Adventures of Superboy

It was originally supposed to be Superboy Archives volume 1. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you why plans changed. but some of you can probably guess if you’ve been following the news about Siegel and Shuster over the past few years.

THINGS CHANGE

Plastic man Archives Vol. 3

Under Levitz’s watch, the DC Archives would always be in print, and several volumes were popular enough to go through several reprintings. This is apparently no longer true. I recently asked Bob Greenberger, whose long comic history includes being involved with the Archives program, what was going on. He replied:

“It used to be that Archives were kept in print. then they were allowed to go out of print. then they reversed that and decided to keep the full run in print. At least that’s what it used to be. Today, who knows?”

So I did some searching. There’s a terrific DC Archive Message Board at (of all places) The marvel Masterworks Fansite. once there, I discovered a list of over 50 DC Archive volumes that are now apparently Out-of-Print (OOP). including several that I didn’t purchase last year. Rats.

Metal men Archives Vol. 2

Wait, this is even better… DC recently announced that an Archive that they haven’t even published yet (Metal men volume 2), is already OOP. So if you didn’t pre-order it, you are probably S.O.L. Which further makes me think WTF? (And not about their upcoming ridiculously named stunt to trade cash for odd stories.)

Captain Comics Archives Vol. 1

Under the current DC regime, the Archives are not the priority they once were. Sales have slipped over the years, probably due to enhancing cover prices and decreasing page counts. (Notably, there has been a recent relocation toward much larger volumes: The Captain Comet Archives currently being solicited is a 400-page volume for $75.00, where Archives used to be 200-some pages.) A change of printers also triggered a change in paper stock away from the traditional buff archival stock previously used. It’s now a glossy, thinner stock. I’m not an expert, but I suspect the binding has changed as well.

In 2008, it was thought that the Archive line was going to be halted, as production of new Archives substantially slowed, which probably had a lot to do with economic factors at that time. because then, they’ve slowly built back the line, continuing existing runs (it would be a real shame if the golden Age runs of Superman, Batman and wonder woman were halted before they were complete), and added some new obscure but fan-friendly series (Metal Men, Lois Lane, Sugar and Spike, Captain Comet). It will be interesting to see if sales are good enough for them to continue (although metal men volume 2 is imminent and Captain Comet will be a done-in-one volume).

REPURPOSING THE ARCHIVES

Batman Chronicles Vol. 4

It’s also interesting to see what DC is doing with the newly restored material. Chronicles series featuring DC characters/series have been running for years, with Superman, Batman, and wonder woman volumes covering the golden Age, while Silver Age series like green Lantern, The Flash, and the upcoming Justice league of America are also popular. What’s terrific about these series for fans is that all the stories are presented in chronological order, which doesn’t imply much for the Silver Age series, but it’s fantastic for the golden Age characters, as it incorporates material from action Comics, Detective Comics, sensation Comics, solo stories from World’s Finest, and other much more obscure sources, putting them in context with the stories from the character’s self-titled series. all of these books take advantage of the work that was done restoring them for their original Archives appearances, in a much much more economical format for fans with tight budgets. Bob Greenberger notes “the Chronicles line was the clever way to offer softcover versions of the Archives without offering softcover versions of the Archives, which retailers and price conscious fans had been demanding”.

Superman: The golden Ag

ComicList: IDW publishing new Releases for 09/03/2014

Angry Birds Comics #4 (Cover A Jean-Michel Boesch), $3.99Angry Birds Comics #4 (Cover SUB David Baldeon), $3.99Dungeons and Dragons Forgotten Realms classics Omnibus volume 2 TP, $24.99G.I. JOE Origins Omnibus volume 2 TP, $24.99Indestructible #8 (Cover A Jose Lopez), $3.99Judge Dredd Mega-City two TP, $19.99Judge Dredd volume 5 TP, $17.99Mars Attacks first born #4 (Of 4)(Cover A Sam Kieth), $3.99Mars Attacks first born #4 (Of 4)(Cover SUB Loston Wallace), $3.99My little pony friendship Is Magic #23 (Cover A Amy Mebberson), $3.99My little pony friendship Is Magic #23 (Cover B Sara Richard), $3.99My little pony friendship Is Magic #23 (Cover RI Kathrym Longua), army little pony friendship Is Magic volume 5 TP, $17.99Rocketeer Jet Powered Adventures SC, $19.99Rogue Trooper classics #5 (Of 12)(Cover A John McCrea), $3.99Rogue Trooper classics #5 (Of 12)(Cover SUB Dave Gibbons), $3.99Silent hill Downpour Anne’s story #1 (Of 4)(Cover A Tristan Jones), $3.99Silent hill Downpour Anne’s story #1 (Of 4)(Cover SUB Justin Randall), $3.99Squidder #3 (Of 4)(Cover A Ben Templesmith), $3.99Squidder #3 (Of 4)(Cover SUB David Stoupakis), $3.99Star Mage #6 (Of 6)(Cover A Franco Cespedes), $3.99Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Micro Comic fun pack Display, ARTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles new Animated Adventures volume 3 TP, $17.99Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles original motion picture special edition HC, $29.99Transformers IDW Collection phase two volume 1 HC, $49.99

ComicList: IDW publishing new Releases for Wednesday, September 3, 2014, by Charles LePage.

Now that you’ve read the list, subscribe through email or RSS, use the ComicList Printable Checklist, and catalogue your comics with a totally free trial of Collectorz.com Comic Collector!

PLEASE NOTE- Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. let me know if any of the names or numbers are wrong. To find a local comic book shop, please browse The Master list of Comic book & Trading Card Stores. visit GoCollect and use their next-generation, near real-time comic book price guide.

© 1995-2014 Charles S. LePage. This work is licensed under the creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 united states License. To view a copy of this license, visit or send a letter to creative Commons, 171 second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. any questions concerning the use of this work ought to be directed to Charles LePage at chuck@comiclist.com.

Read and follow the most recent releases from IDW Publishing:

Read and follow the most recent news from IDW Publishing:

Share this:
Share

Reddit
Twitter

LinkedIn
Tumblr

Telegram
Pinterest

Facebook
Pocket

WhatsApp

Like this:
Like Loading…

Related

ComicList: IDW publishing new Releases for 05/26/2021ComicList: IDW publishing new Releases for Wednesday, may 26,2021, by Charles LePage. Birds A Smithsonian coloring book SC, $16.99 marvel action Captain marvel volume 2 #3 (Cover A Sweeney Boo), $3.99 marvel action Captain marvel volume 2 #3 (Cover B Nicole Goux), AR marvel action classics Spider-Man #3 (Cover A…
May 24, 2021In “ComicList”

ComicList: IDW publishing new Releases for 03/25/2015ComicList: IDW publishing new Releases for 03/25/2015 angry Birds Comics #9 (Cover A Jean-Michael Boesch), $3.99 angry Birds Comics #9 (Cover SUB Ciro Cangialosi), $3.99 Anti-Hero TP, $19.99 Ben 10 classics volume 4 charm A…
March 23, 2015In “Comics”

ComicList: IDW publishing new Releases for 03/25/2015ComicList: IDW publishing new Releases for 03/25/2015 angry Birds Comics #9 (Cover A Jean-Michael Boesch), $3.99 angry Birds Comics #9 (Cover SUB Ciro Cangialosi), $3.99 Anti-Hero TP, $19.99 Ben 10 classics volume 4 charm A…
March 23, 2015In “Comics”

This publish is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews as well as Columns,
Westfield Retail store news

The 2012 physician who Christmas Special, The Snowmen

Looks like after getting a special treat in our collective stocking with the broadcast of this year’s physician who Christmas Special, The Snowmen (airing Christmas Day, December 25th at 9/8 central on BBC America) we won’t be seeing any type of new episodes up until April!

Cartoon Network has revealed the return of the DC nation animation block on January 5!

Dark Horse’s star Wars: tradition returns in 2013 with a new series written by the recent world of the Apes team of Corinna Bechko as well as Gabriel Hardman!

IDW will be releasing one more of their Artist’s edition Hardcovers spotlighting 6-issues of John Byrne’s great four run!

Most of the 2013 totally free Comic book Day (Saturday, may 4th!!!) titles have been announced! let the countdown begin!

AMC is beginning a new Thursday night block of programming in February anchored by Black & White reruns of The walking Dead as well as the return of Comic book Men! In other walking Dead news, picture will be releasing walking Dead The governor special in March!

This post is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews and Columns

Roger Ash

by Roger Ash

My tastes have always been a bit odd (some would say much more than a bit). They tend to be at the fringes of mainstream rather than smack in the middle. For example, I love modern music and get very thrilled for new releases from Camper Van Beethoven, Bob Mould, Dave Alvin, and They might Be Giants but know next to nothing about Katy Perry, Beyonce, Pitbull, and Lorde. I’m the same way with comics. I do like characters like Spider-Man, wonderful Four, the X-Men, and Batman, but I’m much much more thrilled by characters like Howard the Duck, doctor Strange, Man-Thing, and Harley Quinn. That’s one of the reasons why I was thrilled when marvel announced a Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

Guardians of the Galaxy by Abnett & Lanning: The complete Collection

Yes, I know these aren’t the original Guardians; Starhawk, Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Yondu, Martinex, and  Nikki. However, I loved what writers Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning did with this new group of characters (including discussing how they relate to the classic Guardians). If you’ve never read their run on the book, I highly recommend it. marvel is collecting it in a new series of books, Guardians of the Galaxy by Abnett & Lanning: The complete Collection, with the first being provided this month featuring art by Paul Pelletier and others. one of the things I love about the book is they took such an odd group of characters – not just those from the film but also Bug, Adam Warlock, Moondragon, Mantis, Captain Marvel, and others – and made them into a team that actually worked. and not just any team; one filled with characters on the fringe of the marvel universe – star Lord, Earthman Peter Quill, whose dad is an alien; Gamora, the most harmful woman in the galaxy, trained to kill by Thanos; Drax the Destroyer, who wants to destroy Thanos as Thanos killed his family; Rocket Raccoon, an alien weapons expert who just happens to look like a raccoon; and Groot, an old Kirby monster. At least that’s who they are in comics; I have no idea how or if their back stories will change in the film. between Guardians, Nova, and a handful of miniseries, Abnett & Lanning – along with a talented group of artists – produced my favorite marvel storyline in recent memory.

Guardians of the Galaxy

While I still love the characters, the current Guardians book, after a strong start, seems to be meandering a bit. On the plus side, the art – primarily by Sara Pichelli – has been wonderful. However, Brian Michael Bendis is a good writer, so I think he can turn this around. part of the difference between the two series is that with the upcoming movie, the Guardians are now much more integrated into the mainstream marvel Universe. That implies they’re a part of a number of events whereas Abnett & Lanning’s run on the book was pretty much left to its own devices. how much that affects storytelling I’m not sure, but I think it would have some impact.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket Raccoon and Groot – steal the Galaxy

The film is also bringing back Abnett & Lanning, at least for a bit. They are co-writing a miniseries prelude to the movie, the first issue of which came out recently and is a well-written origin story of sorts for Gamora and Nebula and features beautiful art by Wellington Alves. On top of that, Abnett is writing a novel featuring what looks to be the breakout characters from the movie, Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket Raccoon and Groot – steal the Galaxy. The fact that the novel includes a broken Recorder android, the Kree, and the Nova Corps only makes me want to read it more.

Avengers vs. Thanos

A character who played a large part in Abnett & Lanning’s cosmic saga who also has renewed interest due to Marvel’s Cinematic universe is the villainous Thanos. created by Jim Starlin in the 1970s, Thanos is a villain of epic proportions. If you’ve never read the original appearances of Thanos, primarily in Starlin’s runs on Captain marvel and Warlock, do yourself a favor and read them best away. marvel has even collected it into a useful trade paperback, Avengers vs. Thanos. They are, in my humble opinion, some of the finest comics ever. And, happily, Starlin is returning with two new tales of the mad Titan.

Thanos: The Infinity Revelation

First, we have the Thanos annual written by Starlin with art by Ron Lim. This adventure is a prelude to Thanos: The Infinity Revelation, an original graphic novel written and drawn by Starlin. Embarking on a new quest, Thanos runs up against the Annihilators – the Silver Surfer, Beta Ray Bill, Ronan, Gladiator, Quasar, and the Spaceknight Ikon – a group of cosmic heroes Abnett & Lanning brought together in the wake of their work on Guardians. interesting how that all works out, isn’t it? To say that I’m thrilled for a new Thanos story written and drawn by Starlin is a enormous understatement. The solicitation for the book says he teams up with “a once-sworn enemy.” I have no idea who that is, but if it turns out to be someone from Starlin’s run on Warlock, especially if it’s Adam Warlock himself, my delight would be uncontainable.

Marvel is taking a risk with a film featuring characters the general public doesn’t know. However, because I’m familiar with the characters and the stories that inspired the movie, I think it’s a risk worth taking. They’re terrific characters. The general public, and numerous comic readers, just doesn’t know that. Yet. If you’ve never read any of the comics I’ve discussed in this column, give them a try – I think you’ll like them.

Now, go read a comic!